Spring seedlings are not long, and the grindstone is damaged. What do you mean?

Diligent study is like a seedling in spring, which grows slowly every day and cannot be seen; Ignoring study is like sharpening a stone. It seems that there is no loss, but it is actually decreasing every day.

This is a sentence by Tao Yuanming, a great poet in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He warned future generations that once learning was interrupted, what he had learned would be forgotten unconsciously. It's like a grindstone. You can't see its loss, but you lose money every day. Therefore, there is no other way to learn, but to persevere and work hard every day.

Tao Yuanming, a great poet in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, has the ambition to help the poor and secure the country. Because of oppression, he ended his official career and lived in seclusion. One day, a young scholar in the village asked him how to study.

Tao Yuanming took him to the edge of the field outside the house, showed him whether the seedlings in the field had grown tall, and told him that reading and studying were like the seedlings had been growing, although it was imperceptible to the naked eye. As long as you study hard and persevere, you will succeed naturally.

Then he showed him the grindstone by the river. Because farmers sharpen knives, sickles and hoes on them every day, they gradually wear into concave surfaces over time. This shows that once learning is interrupted, what you have learned will be unconsciously forgotten. It's like a grindstone. You can't see its loss, but you lose money every day. Therefore, there is no other way to learn, but to persevere and work hard every day.

Tao Yuanming consciously reading has no secrets, and wrote for readers:

Diligence is like a seedling in spring. If you don't see its increase, you will be stronger every day.

Dropping out of school is like a whetstone. Can't see the harm, losing money every day.

Learning is like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat. If you don't study in life, you won't make progress. As long as you have the will to learn, you will naturally make progress. No matter whether you study Buddhism or practice, you must persevere and be tireless. Persevere, so that you can achieve your ultimate goal. As long as you persist, you will naturally achieve something over time.

Extended data:

The sign of consciousness is self-discipline. The formation of good school spirit and strict school discipline can not be separated from the guidance of the principal, the supervision of teachers and the consciousness of students. However, the school spirit does not exist in the school cultural wall or publicity column, and the school discipline does not exist in various texts, but exists in every corner of the school. Every student's words and deeds depend on the students' self-discipline.

For primary and secondary school students, self-discipline is first manifested in diligence. Students should remember the words of the ancients, "study hard is like a seedling in spring. Without its growth, they will grow sturdily day by day;" Dropping out of school is like a whetstone. If you can't see its harm, you will lose money every day. You consciously integrate diligence and deliberation into school life.

Compared with diligence, perseverance is a deeper manifestation of self-discipline. "Be knowledgeable, interrogate, think carefully, distinguish clearly and be practical", which is the exhortation of the Book of Rites to the reader. The short word 15 clearly reveals the mental progress of the reader: from erudition to perseverance. This wisdom of China ancients is still a useful teaching for today's students.

References:

People's Network-The construction of school spirit and discipline focuses on awakening students' consciousness